Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shaw will perform songs co-written with the group in a program that also includes works by Eric Cha-Beach, Angélica Negrón and Nathalie Joachim
Courtesy photo.
SUMMARY
- Friday, April 21 | 8:00 p.m. | Campbell Hall
-
- Join S? Percussion and Caroline Shaw for this exhilaratingly original program that celebrates the power of collaboration, creativity and cultivation
- Dissolving the boundaries of classical and pop, this musical event takes inspiration from ABBA, James Joyce, Christian hymn music and American roots music
- $20–$35 General Public / $10 UCSB Students (Current student ID required)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
S? Percussion offers an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam.” The New Yorker
“Whether inverting an old song or sculpting a whirlwind from dust, Shaw’s work highlights the divine in the ordinary.” Pitchfork
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents S? Percussion with Caroline Shaw on Friday, April 21 at 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw joins S? Percussion as vocalist for ten songs she co-composed with the quartet members. Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part explores soil cultivation as a metaphor for creativity and collaboration. Shaw’s remarkable ear for melody and harmony and S?’s playful sense of rhythmic invention come together in this strikingly original music. Taking inspiration from James Joyce, ABBA, American roots music, plainchant, Christian hymns and stories from the Old Testament, S? Percussion and Caroline Shaw dissolve the boundaries between classical and pop. In the first half of the program, S? Percussion will perform works in its repertoire from a trio of young composers including ensemble member Eric Cha-Beach, Angélica Negrón and Nathalie Joachim.
Caroline Shaw & S? Percussion – Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part (Official Video)
ABOUT S? PERCUSSION
For twenty years and counting, S? Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker). They are celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work: for live performances in which “telepathic powers of communication” (The New York Times) bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire; for an extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater; and for their work in education and community, creating opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time.
Recent highlights have included performances at the Elbphilharmonie, Big Ears 2022 – where they performed Amid the Noise, premiered a new work by Angélica Negrón with the Kronos Quartet, and performed their album with Caroline Shaw, Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part – and a return to Carnegie Hall where they performed new collaborations with Nathalie Joachim and Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. Their recording, Narrow Sea, with Caroline Shaw, Dawn Upshaw and Gilbert Kalish, won the 2022 Grammy for Best Composition. Other albums include A Record Of.. on Brassland Music with Buke and Gase, and an acclaimed version of Julius Eastman’s Stay On Iton new imprint S? Percussion Editions. This adds to a catalogue of more than twenty-five albums featuring landmark recordings of works by David Lang, Steve Reich, Steve Mackey, and many more.
In the Summer of 2022, S? performed at the Music Academy of the West Festival, Newport Classical, at Time Spans in New York, and offered four concerts at Our Festival in Helsinki – including a performance of Let the Soil with Caroline Shaw. Other 22/23 dates included concerts for Cal Performances, at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, at the Barbican in London, the Kennedy Center and at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
In Fall 2022, S? Percussion began its ninth year as the Edward T. Cone performers-in-residence at Princeton University. Rooted in the belief that music is an elemental form of human communication, and galvanized by forces for social change in recent years, S? enthusiastically pursues a range of social and community outreach through their nonprofit organization, including partnerships with local ensembles including Pan in Motion and Castle of Our Skins; their Brooklyn Bound concert series; a studio residency program in Brooklyn; and the S? Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers.
ABOUT CAROLINE SHAW
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She works often in collaboration with others, as producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist.
Caroline is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. This year’s projects include the score to Fleishman is in Trouble (FX/Hulu), vocal work with Rosalía (MOTOMAMI), the score to Josephine Decker’s The Sky Is Everywhere (A24/Apple), music for the National Theatre’s production of The Crucible (dir. Lyndsey Turner), Justin Peck’s “Partita” with New York City Ballet, a new stage work “LIFE” (Gandini Juggling/Merce Cunningham Trust), the premiere of “Microfictions Vol. 3” for NY Philharmonic and Roomful of Teeth, a live orchestral score for Wu Tsang’s silent film Moby Dick co-composed with Andrew Yee, two albums on Nonesuch (Evergreen and The Blue Hour), the score for Helen Simoneau’s dance work “Delicate Power”, tours of Graveyards & Gardens (co-created immersive theatrical work with Vanessa Goodman), and tours with S? Percussion featuring songs from Let The Soil Play Its Simple Part (Nonesuch), amid occasional chamber music appearances as violist (Chamber Music Society of Minnesota, La Jolla Music Society).
Caroline has written over 100 works in the last decade, for Anne Sofie von Otter, Davóne Tines, Yo Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, LA Phil, Philharmonia Baroque, Seattle Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Aizuri Quartet, The Crossing, Dover Quartet, Calidore Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, Miro Quartet, I Giardini, Ars Nova Copenhagen, Ariadne Greif, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Britt Festival, and the Vail Dance Festival. She has contributed production to albums by Rosalía, Woodkid, and Nas. Her work as vocalist or composer has appeared in several films, television series and podcasts including The Humans, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, Beyonce’s Homecoming, Tár, Dolly Parton’s America, and More Perfect. Her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite smell is rosemary.
About UCSB Arts & Lectures
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Tickets are $20 – $35: General Public / $10: UCSB Students (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Presented in association with UCSB Department of Music
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2022-2023 season.